In this age of the Internet it is important to be able to establish the credibility of web resources.
The following is an assignment designed to provide the experience of evaluating the validity of web resource. Research and the IMSA Evaluation Wizard were used to conduct the site investigation.
This web resource evaluation is for the AFDB site found at the
following web address: http://zapatopi.net/afdb/
“Aluminum Foil
Deflector Beanie
An Effective,
Low-Cost Solution To Combating Mind-Control”
Summary:
After reviewing various criteria I came to the conclusion that this is
a spoof site. I don’t think the author had any serious intent to convince
people that aluminum foil hats perform a serious or necessary function. The
primary intent seems to humor. The site is also a popular one for web source
evaluation and is often referred to as hoax or spoof site.
Some of the sites
that list AFDB as a hoax or spoof site
http://www.slideshare.net/nanner197001/pam-pp-for-eval-2049216
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12923227/Boolify-and-Why
http://www.ferris.edu/library/instruction/classes/internet.html
http://www.uelma.org/miscpdf/07confer_hand/Critical%20Evaluation%20with%20the%20Web.pdf
http://www.pivotalkids.com/internet_research.htm
Author
The sites author purports
to be Lyle Zapato. I was unable to determine if this is a real person. All
other references I could find were connected in some way to this grouping of
sites.
http://wikibin.org/articles/lyle-zapato.html
Accuracy
I couldn’t find any verification
from independent sites. Every site that is connected and references this site
does so in the same spirit as the AFDB site. All references seem to be
satirical or humorous in nature.
Objectivity
There doesn’t seem
to be any attempt at presenting any objective evidence. The web site operates
from the assumption that everyone agrees that there are various entities using
radio waves to exert mind control over the population. Arguments and
“supporting evidence” only relates to the degree of effectiveness of various
techniques and materials.
Links from:
The page below
contains many links to other websites.
http://zapatopi.net/afdb/links.html
I went thought the
first dozen or so and found them once again, to primarily be spoof, satire and
humor site. There are several sites that approach the subject as if it were
serious but in a very tongue in cheek manner.
Links to:
185 other sites are
linked to the AFDB site according to a search using Google “links:” . These
sites consist mostly of humor, satire and website evaluations,
Dates
Most recent update
was 07/10/2010
1/5/2008 earliest
reference
Publisher
The Website for AFDB
is http://zapatopi.net/afdb/, which is
a subpage to http://zapatopi.net
The following pages all reside at the “zapatopi.net” site
Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie
Protect yourself
from mind-control with an AFDB!
Land of sprouts and
chocolate, I think not
The Truth About Black Helicopters
What They don’t
want you to know!
Shocking photos
prove their existence!
A hobo-language for
paranoids
Excellence in
political cartooning
The only magazine
that shows you how to live like Lyle Zapato—includes recipies from Lyle’s
kitchen!
They all seem to be
spoof/satire sites.
The publisher of the
book, Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie
Practical Mind Control Protection for Paranoids
http://www.paladin-press.com/aboutus
This is a real book
you can order. It is classified as humor or satire on the Paladin Press website.